FOR the 19th consecutive year, no Nigerian referee has been selected among the officials preparing to officiate at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), further extending the country’s absence from Africa’s premier football showpiece.
News Point Nigeria Sports reports that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) released the latest shortlist of 94 referees, assistant referees, VAR officials, instructors, and assessors expected to attend a preparatory training programme ahead of the tournament in Morocco. The intensive camp is scheduled to hold from November 8 to 13 in Cairo, Egypt.
The training is designed to assess fitness, match interpretation, VAR operation, and overall officiating standards, forming CAF’s final evaluation before confirming officials for AFCON 2025.
However, no Nigerian referee made the list, continuing a worrying trend that dates back to 2006, when Emmanuel Imiere officiated a group-stage match between Zambia and Guinea at the AFCON hosted by Egypt.
Sources familiar with CAF’s selection process say Nigeria’s persistent absence stems from three major issues: insufficient VAR training and certification, limited exposure to high-level international matches and credibility and perception concerns within the domestic league.
While CAF has now made VAR mastery and consistent elite-level match experience mandatory requirements, Nigeria is still believed to be lagging in the implementation of standardized VAR systems in the domestic league.
Football analysts note that several Francophone nations, particularly Côte d’Ivoire, have invested heavily in structured VAR development, while Southern African (COSAFA) countries have created strong referee training networks. By comparison, Nigeria and other Anglophone West African nations remain behind.
NFF President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, had earlier stated that efforts were underway to ensure Nigerian referees return to officiating at major continental and international stages. But with CAF’s latest list now confirmed, such plans appear yet to yield tangible results.
Those selected for the Cairo programme will undergo: Endurance and agility-based physical examinations, technical assessments and decision-making simulations and classroom sessions on updated VAR protocols and only those who pass all evaluation phases will be cleared to officiate during AFCON 2025 in Morocco.
